Walter biddles



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WALTER BIDDLFIS, OF LEICESTER, ENGLAND.

GEAR-CASE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 531,254, dated December 18,1894. APPHCMOD filed lSeptember 4, 1894. Serial No. 522.132. l(No model.) Patented in England Qctober 5, 1893, No. 18,621.

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

`Be it known that I, WALTER BIDDLEs, a

vsubject of the Queen of Great Britain, re-

siding at Leicester, in the county of Leicester, England, have invented a new and useful Imf provement in Gear-Cases, (for which I have obtained a patent in Great Britain, No. 18,621,

and bearing date October 5, 1893,) of which the following, ytaken with the drawings attached hereto, is a full and complete specification.

My invention relates to an im'provedecase for inclosing and covering the chain driving gear of cycles aud like vehicles, and 'it consists, as applied to cycles, of a' foundation l piece adapted to be lorazed or otherwise xed to the member ofthe fork or frame adjacenty to thel driving gear, of a case or cover formed in two parts, the one part adapted to cover the upper part of the chain driving gear and the other to cover the lower part thereof the said lower part having a window giving a view of the interior of thecase, the saidv two parts of the case being fixed to the foundation piece and to each other by means of one or more screws, the object being to obtain a gear case which can easily and readily be detached for the purpose of cleaning, adjusting, or effecting any necessary repairs to the cycle or case, and which is oil retaining, and to enable the amount of oil or dirt in the case or the condition of the chain tobe seen at a glance.

I attain this end in the manner shown by the accompanying drawings, in which-f Figure lis a view in side elevation showing the application of my improved gear case to a cycle by way of illustration. Fig. 2 is a view showing the two parts of the case detached from the foundation piece. Fig. 3 is a view in plan of the foundation piece fixed to the frame of the cycle. Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are views in transverse section on lines o, o; and z, z, Fig. 1, respectively, and Figs. 7 and 8 are views in transverse section showing alternative methods of constructing the window.

Throughout the views similar parts are marked with like letters of reference.

The gear-caseY is formed in two parts A and A', the top part Abeing adapted .to cover the the fork'or fra`me,`to which the foundation ypieceis attached,

The top part A of the case has small depending strips a2 adapted to overlap the edges of the lower part A of the case and of the plates B and B of the foundation piece so that any oil on the inner surface of the case will be thrown or conducted down into the bottom of the case. Y

The bottom partAof the case has recesses a3 formed-on the surfaces of its inner sides to receive the edges of the plates B and B' of the foundation piece. The two platesB and B forming the foundation piece are connected together by a horizontal strip b pref- -erably so arranged that the member Y of the frame bears on it and can be conveniently brazed, soldered, or otherwise attached to it.

The two parts A and A of the case are xed to each other and to the-'foundation piece by one or more screws D. When but one fixing screw is used it is preferably located at or about the center of the length of the case, and small depending pieces A2 are formed on or xed to the sides of the top pa'rtA of the case lto receive the said screw which passes through holes in the lower part of the case A and through a socket C carried by the strip b of the foundation piece, the screw D being yadapted to screw or thread into the piece A2 on the back of the part A of the case as shown by Fig. 5. The socket C carried by the strip b of the foundation piece prevents the case from being drawn orforced out of shape by the fixing screw D. Y t

The rear ends of the plate B of the foundation piece and of the parts A and A of the case are slotted to receive the axle and part vof the hub of the driving wheelto provide for the adjustment of the driving gear, the slot in the plate Bebeing covered by a plate E adapted to be placed on the said axle and the slot formed by and between the two parts A and A of the case being covered by two the hub of the driving wheel between the chain wheel and iiange thereof and to slide in or on the back side of the said parts of the case.

Instead of fixing the two parts to the foundation piece together they may each be fixed to the said foundation piece independently so as to be capable of separate removal.

To provide a means of ascertaining at a glance the amount of dirt or oil in the case, or the condition of the driving chain, or the connecting pin and nut thereof, I fit the lower part of the ease in any convenient position with a small Window I-I, as shown by Figs. l and 2. This window is preferably made of a circular form as shown as it is then easy to remove and may also be used as the orifice for introducing oil into or removing oil from the case, but it may also be of a square or rectangular shape. The window may be glazed with glass, mica, talc, or any other suitable transparent material.

IVhen the Window is of a circular shape I prefer to construct it in the following mannerz--Itake a circular ring 72, to form the frame and fix it to the side of the gear case either by screwing it therein as shown by Fig. 7, or by soldering, brazing, or otherwise attaching it thereto. This ring frame h is threaded internally to receive a threaded ring 7L' which is adapted to lock the piece of glass h2, or its equivalent, against a shoulder 71,S in the frame 7L, a leather ring washer h4 being interposed to make a good joint. Vhen the window is made of a square or rectangular shape, the piece of glass h2, or its equivalent is fixed to the side of the gear case by means of a frame h5 and washer h4, by means of the screws 7L as shown by Fig. S.

I wish it to be particularly7 understood that I do not limit myself to the precise details of construction hereinbefore described and illustrated by the accompanying drawings, but that I hold myself as liberty to make such changes and alterations as fairly fail within the spirit and scope of my invention.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim isformed essentially of two plates such as B and B and a junction strip such as l), as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In a gear case, the combination of the case formed in two parts A and A' the former having overlapping strips a2 and the lattera window such as IVI, and of the foundation piece consisting of the two plates B and B' and the strip l), all combined, arranged and adapted to operate, as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In a gear case, the combination of the case formed in two parts A and A the former having overlapping strips a2 and the latter a window such as II, of the foundation piece consisting of the two plates B and B' and the strip b, of the socket C carried by the foundation piece, and of the screw D, all combined, arranged and adapted to operate, as and for the purpose set forth.

4. In a gear case, the combination of the case formed in two partsA and A' the former having overlapping strips a2 and the latter a window such as H, of the foundation piece consisting of the two plates B and B and the strip b, of the socket C carried by the foundation piece, of the screw D, and of the sliding plates E, F and F', all combined, arranged and adapted to operate, as and for the purpose set forth.

5. In a gear case, the combination with the case formed in two parts such as A and A', of the plates A2, and the overlapping strips a2 on the part A of the case, of the Window ll, of the foundation piece consisting of the two plates B and B and the strip b,of the socket C carried by the foundation piece, of the screw D, of the sliding plate E, and of the compound sliding plate F, F', all combined, arranged and adapted to operate, as and for the purpose set forth.

WALTER BIDDLES. lVitnesses:

W. Il. JAMES, ARTHUR M. HACK. 

